Blogs from Lauca National Park, Arica & Parinacota, Chile, South America

Up earlier than we needed to be this morning so it was very relaxed. Met a nice Swiss couple, Helen and Henry, who do a lot of traveling. They have spent quite a lot of time in Australia as well. We left the hotel on schedule at 09:00 and drove back into Lauca NP and stopped at a trail that ran along a series of caves and this was like the vizcacha hotel as we saw a lot of them, mainly sleeping on the rock ledges. The trail was a circuit and crossed the highway and on the other side we saw many different bird species. Left there at 10:20 and as usual stopped a couple of times for photo opportunities before stopping at the main site for today, Lake Chungara. Throughout the morning we had ... read more

- Drive from San Pedro de Atacama to Iquique - 490 km A long drive with straights as long as the horizon and never ending dirt roads due to road constructions, that was the ride in a nutshell to Iquique. The town itself proofed to be nothing exciting and we were happy to move on further north. On our way to Arica we stopped at Humberstone and Santa Laura, where the wealth of the nitrate boom is still whispering through the deserted ghost towns. We wondered for half a day thru a bygone time and enjoyed the desert heat. Another short stop at “El Gigante” – a geoglyph which dates back to around AD 900 took both our fascination. - Drive from Iquique to Arica - 310 km The roads in the north of Chile are ... read more

First of all dear blog followers a confession. I have had my first South American MacDonalds.Wandering around the city of Arica in search of an iron construction church designed by Eiffel - he who built the tower that bears his name in Paris- I saw the golden arches on top of a large pole. I started to salivated. Resistance was futile as having not eaten anything except Henny's grapes the night before, and despite the promise I try and make every time I go away to solely eat the food of the country I am in, I caved in and wandered inside. It was like a magnet and there was nothing I could do to resist. It was also a public holiday in ... read more

1.Celebrate your history at UICCP: What is a mountain that you think you have climbed since your time here at UICCP? Be specific and explain. What helped you cross this mountain? the moutain that I think that I have climbes since being here at UICCP, was taking over and ackleing my junior year, it was my first year at UICCP, and I tooked it over and conqured it. 2. What immediate mountain is before you in your final semester as a senior? Be specific. How do you plan to tackle this mountain? How do you need help climbing this mountain? The immidate mountain that i will take over final semester is presenting my senior portfollio, I think this will be a challenge beacuse I have to practice on my public speaking skills without being nervous, this ... read more

Still in Putre the weather has been clear and hot and as of now still no rain, It occurred to me that I have not seen rain for 4 months, that has to be a record for me. As a result the the ground is so dry and dusty and dust storms although small because of the lack of wind can be seen in the distance. We met a girl called Katie from Montana, on befriending here she inspired me to take another look and the cave painting in the valley a few miles from the hostel, We stuck to the trail over the ridge instead of climbing over it, it took at lot longer but was a lot easier than our first excursion scrambling through cactus. The following day we borrowed a car from our ... read more